“They took her."
Lord Marcellus's voice rang through the marble chamber of the human parliament.
He paced before the flame-lit dais, silken robes whispering with every agitated step.
“Lady Ilena Selvia—noble blood of the fallen house—is being *held* by the Night-Wolf Alpha as his concubine, his war trophy, perhaps even as his Luna."
The court gasped. Several ministers stood. One slapped the table.
Marcellus's eyes gleamed. “This... abduction is an act of war."
“Or alliance," someone muttered. “Depending how one reads it."
He turned. “She is a symbol. If that Alpha breeds with her, he merges the prophecy's bloodlines. The wolf-human hybrid heir becomes more than myth—it becomes claim. One that could unite both realms. That must *not* happen."
“Then what do you propose?"
Marcellus s
